On January 31, 2026, the Longwood Men’s Basketball team took on High Point at the Joan Perry Brock Center for their only home game in a four game stretch. In a hard-fought game, the Lancers received their first loss at home in conference play, 71-59.
The first half was incredibly physical and aggressive on both sides. Longwood delivered the first punch as they scored seven unanswered against the league's best defense in the Big South. However, High Point responded with 11 of their own without response, which set the tone for the rest of the game. Both teams would play to their strengths and deny entry inside the paint.
With nine minutes to go in the first half, the Panthers started to catch fire and used screen actions to open up the painted area to get layups inside. Longwood was only able to crack 20 points with two minutes to go before the first half ended. High Point entered the second half with not only a ten point lead, but also the momentum in their favor.
The Lancers opened up the second half with more aggression towards the basket. “We had to figure out a new attack to their matchup zone, but it didn’t cause issues. [The] issue was that we kept throwing the ball to the team in white,” said Head Coach Ronnie Thomas.
Although Longwood held the Panthers below their season average in points and shooting percentage behind the arc, the Lancers gave up 18 turnovers. High Point took advantage and scored 19 points off of them.
Sophomore guard Redd Thompson Jr. and Graduate forward Johan Nziemi were the primary offensive weapons in the second half. Thompson scored a team high 16 points, while Nziemi added 12 points and seven boards. Junior forward Emmanuel Richards also ended in double figures with 10.
“Coach wanted to play through me,” said Nziemi. “They tried to give me the ball in the middle of the paint and let me operate.”
At one point in the second half, Longwood was able to bring the game within five, but High Point forward Terry Anderson made a bucket to answer and was able to put himself at the free throw line. He finished with a game high of 22 points.
High Point caught fire and never looked back, continuing to force turnovers and push the pace in their direction. In the second half, they went 11-11 from the free throw line.
This marks the third time this season that High Point has scored under 80 points in a game. “We held them to one of their lowest scoring games. If we took care of the ball, we would have been able to win the game,” said Nziemi.
With only a handful of games remaining in the season, Longwood looks to improve their ball handling and limit turnovers. “As a program, we got to get better in how we value the basketball, and that’s as a team,” Thomas said. “Me, our staff, our players, we all got to value the ball more.”
This marks the third game in a row that the Lancers have turned the ball over 17 times or more. They now sit with a 4-5 conference record and sit fourth in the standings, extending their losing streak to two.
The Panthers are still in a race with Winthrop for the number one seed in the Big South standings, both with an 8-1 record. High Point returns home to play Charleston Southern at Qubein Center, who are coming off a loss against Radford.
Meanwhile, Longwood will hit the road to play Gardner-Webb in North Carolina on February 4, themselves coming off a loss against UNC Asheville.
